


A Queen and an Empress

by HandmaidenOfHorror



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-27
Updated: 2020-06-27
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:33:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24945421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HandmaidenOfHorror/pseuds/HandmaidenOfHorror
Summary: Wherein Lotor is a woman and the small changes the fact causes to the plot lead to a significant divergence. Spoilers to seasons 3-6.
Relationships: Allura/Lotor (Voltron)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 5
Collections: Rule 63 Exchange 2020





	A Queen and an Empress

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ThatScottishShipper](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatScottishShipper/gifts).



She first heard her through an open communication.

“I am Lotor, Empress Regent of the Galra Empire, and by virtue of the rights granted to me, I order you to surrender!”

That came as a shock to Allura. She knew Zarkon and Honerva were expecting a child, but she assumed the fetus perished with its mother. What’s more, they were so certain it was going to be a boy. Have they managed to conceive another, in their near zombie state? ( _Yuck_ ) If so, she could imagine how the woman would look, but her voice sounded so pleasant, so fruity despite the owner being clearly antagonistic! The moment of dissociation almost costed Allura dearly in the ensuing battle, but even when Lotor and her generals left, she couldn’t help but think about the new foe. 

***

As for Lotor, she has known how Allura looked since childhood. In secret, she got her governess to teach her about her old enemies and ancestors, and that’s how she learned about Altea’s last princess, the beautiful and doomed Allura. Had there been no war, the woman would have been sort of like an older sister to Lotor, or at least that’s how Lotor liked to fantasize about it. In fact, she had spent a lot of time fantasizing about the impossible scenario. She was long dead, after all. For Lotor, she was the personification of the lost world, the ideal ghost princess.

She even tried to make herself look like Allura, but her pitiful attempts only brought her even more mockery. The closest she got was a slight curl of her long hair when she finally grew to adulthood. In the end, she accepted that the gorgeous, elaborate style of long gone royalty was not for her. You could hardly run and shoot your enemies in a long dress. Thankfully, she eventually gained friends who enjoyed simple, military style. But nonetheless, for most of her live Lotor adored a ghost. Finding out the ghost was actually alive all the time led Lotor to have complicated feelings she couldn’t fully word, perhaps for the first time in her long life.

***

It was regrettable that their first face to face meeting had to be like this, with Lotor surrendering to be their ( _her_ ) prisoner.

“She never shows her face in the broadcasts, is she that hideous?”, thought Allura, “And how old is she exactly? She doesn’t sound old at all.”

“I am about to meet my goddess face to face and be condemned by her,” thought Lotor, “I don’t know if I’ll be able to take it.”

They were both surprised. Once Lotor removed her helmet in the prison chamber (‘terrarium’, as the younger human paladins joked, which led to them immediately being chastised by Shiro for inappropriate humor), Allura was greeted with the sight of the most beautiful woman alive. Lotor on her end was shocked that instead of a scowl, she was given a look of awe – that is before the red paladin put himself between the two women and the row started.

***

Allura felt guilty as hell. Determined to not let herself be led astray by the feelings she now knew were signs of attraction, she instead took opposite extreme and let the woman she was attracted to be led to a certain death, despite the whole prisoner exchange being an obvious trap – it was a miracle that that her team managed to get out of there alive. As for Lotor…

Lotor didn’t say a word after she has killed her father. The team wanted to put her back in the cage, but Allura objected – she could tell when a person was suffering trauma. Guided by an impulse, she took her to her room and left her be – she seemed to need a time to herself. However, when after returning a few hours later Allura found her in exactly same position as the one she left her in, she started to worry.

“Are you alright?,” she asked, coming closer, and then stopped. She didn’t know Lotor enough to know how close is too close for her.

“Do I look like I’m alright?,” she snapped, looking at Allura and then averting her gaze, “Sorry.”

“It is I who wanted to apologize,” replied Allura, “I was so cruel to you! Please, if I can help, just tell me how!”

Lotor looked at her again. Now, she just seemed sad, heartbroken even.

“I have loved you ever since I was a child,” she said.

To say that Allura didn’t expect her to say that would be an understatement. She kept silent, encouraging Lotor to continue.

“I learned about Altea in secret, and you were the symbol of what was lost. I dreamt about meeting you, of us being friends, but now I realize I was in love with an idea of you. I’m sorry too.”

“Don’t be,” Allura knelt and took her face in her hands, “now I’m here and you will get to know the real me.”

Their foreheads touched and they stayed like this for some time in silence.

***

Things went fast from that point on. Allura flew Lotor to Feyviv and gave her the blue bayard, getting Shiro’s and Coran’s approval but Lance’s and Pidge’s scowl, with poor Hunk and Matt being left in the middle, trying to mediate between the friends. They all flew the Castle of Lions to the white hole where Allura received the blessing of Oriande, allowing her to help in building the transdimensional ship. The two of them were in love like a pair of youths, despite both having centuries if not millennia of experience behind them. For the first time since becoming the Blue Paladin, Allura let her hair down and started wearing dresses again. It was too good to be true, and unfortunately, it was.

When they broke into the quintessence dimension, the soft, gentle light made Allura think of ways she could use the fact the two of them were the only ones in the reality. Unfortunately, Lotor had exactly the same idea. She started talking about things she couldn’t talk about elsewhere, things she did to save as much of Altea as possible, and things and people she sacrificed. Every word hurt, she wanted Lotor to stop, but she just kept talking and talking, every word a dagger to Allura's heart! She wanted to hit Lotor, to strangle her, but she couldn’t – the ship needed both of them to return to their universe.

It was incredibly cruel of Lotor, Allura thought at first, but then her point of view slowly changed. She lived as a princess in times of peace, Lotor lived millennia in hiding. She was a pragmatist to Allura’s idealist. No matter what she did to achieve that, she managed to protect the last Alteans. And knowing Haggar, she could be capable on spying on Lotor even in the Castle of the Lions, so it made sense to keep the secret from Allura until they were truly alone. She couldn’t forgive her. Not yet, at least, and their relationship won’t ever be as it was, but Lotor had a point. Now she’ll have to visit the Alteans as quickly as she can-

Turns out said Alteans visited her first. She was greeted with her friends and allies shouting and pointing their weapons at her lover and telling her to get away from her, as if she was not strong enough to protect herself if need be, as if she was incapable of making decisions on her own, as if the two of them were not a queen and an empress.

“Shut up!,” she yelled, and the surprise of such an out of character action made everybody shut up indeed.

“Now listen,” and she started recounting the tale Lotor told her mere hours ago.


End file.
